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Sociolinguistics from the Periphery "presents a fascinating book about change: shifting political, economic and cultural conditions; ephemeral, sometimes even seasonal, multilingualism; and altered imaginaries for minority and indigenous languages and their users."

Portraits of the L2 User, edited by Vivian Cook, is acollection of articles focusing on the nature of the secondlanguage (L2) user. Each of the thirteen chapters in thevolume is prefaced with a short introduction by Cook torelate the contents of the chapter to broader issues insecond language acquisition (SLA) research. The volume isintended for students and researchers in the areas of SLA,bilingualism, linguistics, and language teaching. Thefirst chapter, written by Cook, serves as an introductionto the concept of the L2 user. The other chapters focus on:lexical representation and processing (A. de Grott),phonology (R. Major), syntax (S. Flynn and B. Lust),functional usage (C. Perdue), cognitive processes (E.Bialystok), bilingual children (F. Genesee),neurolinguistics (F. Fabbro), individual differences (J.-M. Dewaele), language attrition (K. De Bot and M. Hulsen),social factors (A. Pavlenko), learners' rights (F. G. deMatos), and language teaching methodology (V. Cook).

SYNOPSIS

In Chapter 1, "Background to the L2 User," Cook establishesthe construct of L2 user in contrast to L2 learner,defining L2 learner as someone who acquires the L2 forlater use while L2 user is someone engaged in real-lifeusage of the L2, and that "any use counts, however small orineffective" (p. 3). Based on this distinction, Cookargues that SLA research should shift its focus from the L2learner, or someone who fails to acquire native speakerproficiency (e.g., the deficit model), to exploring thenature of L2 users in their own right. Cook also discussesthe concept of "multi-competence" (Cook, 1991) and arguesthat SLA and linguistic theory should be reframed with theview that multilingualism, and not monolingualism, is thenorm.

In Chapter 2, "Lexical Representation and LexicalProcessing in the L2 User," de Groot, examines how the L2user's mind represents and processes the vocabularies oftwo languages. De Groot discusses various models oflexical representation, especially three-componenthierarchical models, providing evidence for and againsteach model. De Groot argues that three-component modelsare functionally rather than qualitatively different andthat various versions of the three-component models canoccur within one bilingual mind as bilingual memoryrepresentation varies not only across populations, but alsowithin individuals, even for the same L1 and L2, based onfactors such as language proficiency, word type, wordfrequency, and L2 learning method/environment.

In Chapter 3, "The Phonology of the L2 User," Majoroutlines his original model, the Ontogeny Phylogeny Model(OPM), portions of which are also discussed in detail inMajor (2001), to account for the principles involved in thedevelopment of an L2 phonological system as well as thechanges in the L1 system as a result of exposure to an L2.The three main factors involved in the development of aninterlanguage -- the L1, the L2, and universal principles -- are discussed within individual's language developmentand change (Ontogeny) as well as changes and evolutions ofwhole languages (Phylogeny) due to language contactphenomena, dialect variation, and historical change.

In Chapter 4, "A Minimalist Approach to L2 Solves a Dilemmaof UG," Flynn and Lust discuss the dilemma of how thedistinction between initial and end states of the UG can bemaintained if the UG is continuous between these states.The authors outline both the Maturational Model and theStrong Continuity Model and then draw on both L1 and L2research to argue for the Strong Continuity Model of UG,with the additional claims that at the end-state, the UG isdistinct from specific language grammars, that the UG isavailable to adult L2 learners in its entirety, and that L1and adult L2 knowledge are not acquired in fundamentallydifferent ways.

In Chapter 5, "Development of L2 Functional Use," Perduedraws on data from the European Science Foundation (ESF) toillustrate the highly structured and recurrent nature, andcross-linguistic consistency of learner language. Taking afunctional approach to the analysis of learner language,Perdue examines both sentence and discourse levelorganizational principles, and the communicative and formalfactors that may explain the acquisition process. Arguingthat culture-neutral knowledge and process-relatedprinciples govern informational organization at thediscourse level and language-neutral knowledge and process-related principles at the sentence level, Perdue employsESF learner data to illustrate how the interaction oforganizational principles determine the relatively stablefunctional system.

In Chapter 6, "Cognitive Processes of L2 Users," Bialystokexamines the relationship between language and cognition,especially in relation to users of two languages.Bialystok outlines both the formal and functional views oflanguage and cognition, as well as hybrid theories, andthen presents her own framework (cf. Bialystok, 1991, 2001)which employs analysis of representational structure andcontrol of attention to consider the relationship betweenlanguage and cognition. Drawing on findings from researchon bilingual children, Bialystok argues that learning twolanguages effects significant changes in how children carryout general cognitive processes, and that this impact islimited to the control of attention aspect of herframework.

Chapter 7, "Portrait of the Bilingual Child," Geneseefocuses on bilingual code mixing, which he discusses fromcognitive, linguistic, and communicative perspectives, torefute the assumptions that learning two (or more)languages simultaneously is problematic and that bilingualchildren possess a single unified language system. Geneseeargues that bilingual children's use of the two languagesis appropriate and context-sensitive and differentiatedfrom the one-word stage onwards, and that bilingualchildren typically acquire language-appropriate andlanguage-specific constraints for each language.

In Chapter 8, "The Neurolinguistics of L2 Users," Fabbroaddresses the question of whether the two languages ofbilinguals have similar or different brain representations.Fabbro examines research from bilingual aphasics, cases oflanguage mixing and switching by bilinguals with cerebrallesions, electrophysiological studies, and neuroanatomystudies. Findings from these studies suggest that neuralstructures are involved in the selection and segmentationof utterances, that there may differences in the cerebralcortical organization of languages based on learningstrategies and age of learning, and while the lexicons ofthe L1 and the L2 may be stored in the same brain areasregardless of age of acquisition, the representation ofmorphosyntax may be different if the L2 is acquired afterage 7.

In Chapter 9, "Individual Differences in L2 Fluency:Neurobiological Correlates," Dewaele addresses the issuesof both intra- and inter-individual variation in L2 fluencyfrom a neurobiological perspective. Examining therelationship among short-term memory (STM), long-termmemory (LTM), and working memory (WM) in languageprocessing, Dewaele argues that L2 users may have ashortage of STM capacity. Linking this to individualdifferences, Dewaele states that extroverted learners maybe superior to introverts in STM and that higher anxietylevels have also been linked to introversion. Both ofthese differences may have neurobiological causes andcreate more constraints on fluency for introvertedlearners, especially in more formal and stressfulsituations.

In Chapter 10, "Language Attrition: Tests, Self-Assessments, and Perceptions," De Bot and Hulsen examine L1and L2 language loss by analyzing data from bothquantitative measurements of language loss and self-reportsfrom L2 users. Based on an analysis of both 1st and 3rdperson accounts of L1 and L2 loss, De Bot and Hulsen arguethat the language loss is heterogenous across individualsand perceptions about loss are affected by languagebackground, educational level, attitudes towards the L1 andL2, professional activity and possibly age as well.

In Chapter 11, "Poststructuralist Approaches to the Studyof Social Factors in Second Language Learning and Use,"Pavlenko traces the study of social factors in SLA,beginning with early sociopsychological approaches such asGardner and Lambert's (1959, 1972) work on motivation andattitudes, and Schumann's Acculturation Model (1978) inorder to frame the emergence of poststructuralistperspectives on social factors and the advantages of thepoststructuralist approach over earlier frameworks.Pavlenko also discusses three key aspects ofpoststructuralist approaches - view of language, view oflearning, and view of L2 learners.

In Chapter 12, "Second Language Learners' Rights," Gomes deMatos first defines a learner's right as "a new humanisingquality experienced by a person as a result of aneducational decision or policy" (p. 307) and then thehistorical development of the recognition of learners'rights. Gomes de Matos also provides a typology oflearners' rights based on 12 open-ended criteria includingage, performance level, learners' strategies andpreferences, and language and cultural background. A listof specific linguistic rights in the areas ofpronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar is also provided.Gomes de Matos concludes by providing an open-endedchecklist to help language educators, curriculum planners,and policy makers to include learners' rights into teachertraining and curriculum development.

In Chapter 13, "Language Teaching Methodology and the L2User Perspective," the concluding chapter, Cook discussesthe consequences that a shift to an L2 user perspective hason teaching methodology and syllabus design. After a briefoverview of 20th century teaching methodology, Cookdiscusses the nature of the L2 user, and then links the L2user to teaching methodology by outlining a series ofprinciples for language teaching that take the L2 userperspective into consideration.

EVALUATION

By shifting the focus from what L2 learners lack orcannot not do in comparison with monolingual nativespeakers (e.g., the deficit model), to a recognition thatL2 users should be studied in their own right for what theycan do, this volume makes an important contribution tosecond language theory, methodology, and pedagogy. Thevolume, the first to focus entirely on the L2 user andvarious aspects of L2 users' knowledge, marks animportant shift in how we understand, describe, andprescribe, through language teaching, the process andproduct of second language acquisition as well as the normsand goals of this process. The volume also adds a new andrich dimension to current discussions of the native speakerconstruct (cf. Kachru & Nelson, 1996), non-native speakingteachers (cf. Braine, 1999), and the internationalizationof languages such as English (cf. Jenkins, 2000). As such,this is an important volume for both language researchersand teachers. The volume would also be an excellenttextbook for second language acquisition courses as eachchapter is written by an expert(s) in a given area andprovides a solid introduction to a particular area ofresearch as well as an extensive reference list.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER:
ABOUT THE REVIEWER Jette G. Hansen is Assistant Professor of English Language/Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) at the University of Arizona. Her research interests include the acquisition of an L2 phonology, gender and second language acquisition, and literacy development.